George Howard "Chief" Johnson (March 20, 1886 – June 11, 1922) was an American
professional baseball pitcher. He played three seasons in
Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1913 to 1915, for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
of the
National League and
Kansas City Packers of the
Federal League. He surrendered the first
home run in the history of
Wrigley Field, to
Art Wilson on April 23, 1914.
Johnson was of
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Irish ancestry. He identified as Ho-Chunk and was depicted in the media as a
Native American.
A 1913 feature by ''
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...
'' reported his full name as George Washington Murphy Johnson.
Johnson was shot to death in
Des Moines, Iowa, on June 11, 1922,
at the age of 36. He had been in town to host a
medicine show and had gotten into an argument during a
dice game. The shooter, despite having confessed to police and being identified by witnesses, was eventually acquitted of first degree murder.
References
External links
*
1886 births
1922 deaths
Baseball players from Nebraska
Cincinnati Reds players
Deaths by firearm in Iowa
Ho-Chunk people
Kansas City Packers players
Lincoln Railsplitters players
Major League Baseball pitchers
American murder victims
Nebraska people of French descent
People murdered in Iowa
San Francisco Seals (baseball) players
Sioux City Packers players
St. Joseph Drummers players
Vernon Tigers players
1922 murders in the United States
20th-century Native Americans
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